Faults within a power system can be difficult to detect in a timely manner. Faults at a transformer of a power system, for example, can be caused by physical breakdowns, design flaws, and electrical and/or magnetic flux resulting from temperature variation (e.g., hot spots) and/or physical stress. These faults can occur deep within the transformers and can occur fairly quickly, possibly even within minutes. These faults can cause significant failures within the power system and can even cause explosions.
Point sensors can be embedded within the power system for detecting operating condition(s) at a specific location. To capture sufficient data to represent the operating condition of the overall power system, a significant number of point sensors are required to be installed throughout the power system. A detection range of the point sensors can be limited and so, point sensors may not detect nearby faults if they occur outside the detection range.